Wireless communication units, such as radiotelephones, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants and other apparatus may communicate over a wide area network, such as a wireless cellular system or over a wireless link to an Internet point of presence. In addition, such wireless communication apparatus may additionally have a short-range wireless transceiver to allow wireless communication with other local subscriber apparatus that are close to one another, such as other proximal wireless units. For example, Internet appliances may include a local area network communication mechanisms, such as a BlueTooth™ based transceiver, short range optical transceiver, or other short range transceiver that allows communication with other wireless units via a local area network. For example, piconets are known that allow short-range communication with other subscriber units. Generally, the wireless air interface between a wireless communication unit and the wide area network and other local subscriber apparatus will be different. For example, common standardized cellular air interfaces include GSM, IS-95, IS-136 etc. Wireless LAN air interfaces include such things as Blue Tooth, 802.11, Hiperlan, etc. It is understood however, that a single common air interface in a subscriber unit can simultaneously provide a connection to a wide area network (such as the internet via a point of presence) and other local subscriber units.
There have been proposals to provide communication range extensions by, for example, having a first subscriber receive information designated for a destination subscriber if the first subscriber can receive the information. The first subscriber receives the information for a destination subscriber and passes it to the destination subscriber while the first subscriber can receive the information. This may be suitable, for example, if the destination subscriber cannot receive the destination signal due to a low power level. Accordingly, another subscriber apparatus that is able to receive the information is sent the information for the destination unit and retransmits the information to the destination unit. However, such proposals typically require only one of the subscriber units of a group of neighboring or proximal units to be designated as the unit that retransmits the information to the destination wireless unit. Accordingly, information throughput is not significantly enhanced.
Moreover, although the sharing of the wireless resources of subscriber apparatuses may have its advantages, battery energy may run down when it is used to retransmit information for a different destination subscriber unit. Hence, users may resist or be unwilling to participate in sharing wireless resources.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method and apparatus that allows shared resource usage of wireless resources for apparatus that may communicate with a wide area network and a local area network to enhance participation by potential wireless apparatuses. A need further exists for a method and apparatus that allows aggregation of shared resource usage of wireless resources for apparatus that may communicate with a wide area network and a local area network to enhance the information throughput.